Few details have been released about the surgical technique used by the seven-member team at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, led by Stefano Margaritora, a professor of thoracic surgery at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart and director of the hospital’s thoracic surgery unit. The team operated on Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday, Oct. 13, removing the lower lobe of his right lung.

The hospital described the procedure as “video-assisted” and said it lasted about 90 minutes. A frozen-section examination confirmed a diagnosis of pulmonary adenocarcinoma, as suspected from preoperative tests. The surgery was described as “radical,” indicating that the tumor was removed with the aim of eradicating the disease. The Vatican said the pope had resumed walking and eating. But doctors must await the results of postoperative tests to determine whether further treatment will be necessary and how long he will remain hospitalized.

The operation on Robert Francis Prevost was far from unusual at Gemelli. Located on Via della Pineta Sacchetti, the hospital is a leading European and international center for advanced thoracic surgery and interventional radiology. It performs about 1,000 thoracic operations each year. Many patients can get out of bed the day after surgery and leave the hospital within two or three days, allowing them to recover faster and, when necessary, begin additional treatment sooner. These outcomes reflect both technological advances and the expertise of medical teams that work efficiently across specialties and tailor care to individual patients.

Since 2019, thoracic surgeons and interventional radiologists at Gemelli have developed a minimally invasive technique for removing cancerous lung nodules at the earliest stages. The approach aims to improve patients’ chances of recovery while shortening postoperative healing time.

The procedure involves two stages. Before surgery, interventional radiologists use CT imaging to guide a small metal coil, known as a microcoil, into lung nodules suspected of being early-stage tumors. The coil acts as a marker, pinpointing lesions that may be smaller than a centimeter and difficult to locate visually.

The thoracic surgeon then makes an incision of about 1.2 inches in the chest wall and inserts a small camera to locate the marker. Using a thoracoscopic technique, the surgeon can remove the suspicious nodule while preserving healthy lung tissue. The procedure is performed under general anesthesia, and patients typically recover much faster than after conventional open surgery, often returning home within two days.

Gemelli offers other advanced approaches to lung cancer treatment as well.

In December 2025, the hospital drew attention for performing minimally invasive lung cancer surgery just four hours after a patient’s diagnosis. The procedure combined robotic bronchoscopy using the ION system with minimally invasive lung resection under a single anesthetic. Margaritora coordinated the team.

The procedure takes place in a so-called hybrid operating room. Under general anesthesia, the patient undergoes a biopsy using the ION Endoluminal System™, a robotic bronchoscopy platform that allows physicians to sample and mark even small nodules in the outer regions of the lung. The marker helps surgeons locate the lesion during the operation. If the biopsy confirms cancer, the patient, already intubated, can proceed directly to surgical resection.

This approach avoids a postoperative observation period that might otherwise be needed to monitor the nodule before deciding whether to operate.

In the case completed just four hours after diagnosis, the operation was performed by Elisa Meacci, an associate professor of thoracic surgery at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart and head of the minimally invasive surgery unit at the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital Foundation. Meacci was also part of the team that operated on the pope.

After the December 2025 procedure, Margaritora said the approach “fully embodies Gemelli’s values and vision: advanced technology, timely diagnosis, appropriate clinical care, a person-centered approach and interdisciplinary teamwork.” He described a process that moves from biopsy using robotic bronchoscopy in the hybrid operating room to immediate segmental resection in the operating room.

To give patients with suspicious lung nodules faster access to specialist consultations, Gemelli opened a dedicated Lung Nodule Clinic in 2023.